How Long To Get Marriage Certificate After Wedding?
Do you want to know how long to get marriage certificate after wedding? Truth be told, marriage is not as simple as saying “I do” and wearing rings as a symbol of your vows together. On the legal side of things, there is a quite a lengthy process involved in declaring your love and your marriage in the eyes of the law.
What is Marriage Law?
As we most commonly know, several requirements need to be met before someone is even allowed to apply for a marriage license in order to get married. This legal status acknowledges the personal capability of an individual to decide to get married and to be married. One of the requirements states that the individual should be of legal age in order to be married without parental consent or authorization. However, the general marriage age differs in some states, such as 19 years old in Nebraska and 21 years old in Mississippi.
Marriage License and Marriage Certificate
Before going to the details of how long to get marriage certificate after wedding, we have to first and foremost clear some terms and definitions between a marriage license and a marriage certificate.
Marriage License
A marriage license is a specific document that you have to obtain and secure before getting married. Often obtained from your county clerk or specialized notary public, the marriage license application allows the local government if the soon-to-be husband and wife are legally cleared to be married. Considering this, it is possible for the application for a marriage license to be declined if one of the couples gets flagged for some sort of violation. If that is the case, the issue should be settled first before applying for a marriage license.
It is also important to remember that marriage licenses expire after 90 days of its application. So while it is not possible to apply for a marriage license a year in advance, it is also important to keep your application date within the deadline in case any problems or issues come up.
Marriage Certificate
On the other hand, a marriage certificate is a document that serves as the official written declaration that you are indeed married. In a sense, this paper represents the legality of the wedding ceremony and the marriage and allows the state to acknowledge you and your spouse as a single social entity. Typically forwarded by the officiating minister who conducted the wedding, marriage certificates are normally provided only once requested by one of the spouses.
Marriage License and Marriage Certificate: FAQs
How to Properly Process a Marriage License and Marriage Certificate?
Preparing your wedding's legal aspects can be sort of overwhelming, especially if you have absolutely no clue what needs to be done. Before you ask how long to get marriage certificate after wedding, you should first know the process behind a marriage license and a marriage certificate. Here are some tips and pointers to remember when processing your marriage license and marriage certificate:
- Choose the date and place where you are getting married and apply for a marriage license in that specific county.
- Prepare the following requirements for a marriage license application: proof of identity, parent information, a witness, and payment for fees.
- Take note that these requirements may vary from one county to another, so make sure to pay a visit and check the requirements personally before moving forward in your application.
- Keep in mind to set your application date for a marriage license well within 90 days before your wedding as the license expires after 90 days of its release. Give at least a week’s allowance to give leeway for the processing and waiting time involved in the application.
- Once all your requirements are ready, visit your country’s clerk office or a specialized notary public to apply for a marriage license. Upon receiving your marriage license, you are now legally allowed to be wed.
- The next step is to gather signatures for your marriage license – this includes the signature of your officiating minister, two witnesses, and the signatures of the newlyweds.
- After completing the signatures, the officiating minister forwards the marriage license to the county office to be processed.
- Once done, you can now request a copy of your marriage certificate and would be provided by the county clerk's office.
Why Get a Marriage Certificate?
As mentioned earlier, marriage certificates serve as the official declaration in paper that you and your spouse are legally married. This is especially important when applying in various financial and social transactions that require you to declare the legality of your marriage. Thus, it is important to have several copies of your marriage certificate at hand in case any kind of application requests you to provide such document.
How Long to Get Marriage Certificate After Wedding?
The processing of your marriage certificate starts the local government receives your signed marriage license signed by your officiating minister. And while this typically happens right after the wedding, the whole process takes a couple of weeks to be accomplished. Considering that the certificate goes through the local government and into the system, some estimate the whole process could take even up to eight weeks before it becomes available for request in your local county clerk.
Conclusion
Marriages not only come with the responsibility of sharing and spending your life with your spouse. It also entails many legal responsibilities that need to be addressed. To do so, any married couple needs to have a copy of their marriage certificate at hand. This serves as proof of their unity and legality of their marriage whenever requested. It is important for any newlywed couple to know how long to get marriage certificate after wedding to accurately schedule all the upcoming responsibilities entailed to getting married. Also, keep in mind to have several copies at hand so that you wouldn’t have to go through the lengthy process of requesting the document over and over again. Here's how to learn more about wedding essentials.
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